Apocalypse Gachapon - Chapter 2058: True expansion

Since Xia Lei decided to fight, the entire Cloud Peak war machine immediately began operating.

After instructing subordinates to do their tasks, Gan Lan, Mei Na, Tang Tian, and Ah Yang—several core members—came to find Guang Yao. They were jointly responsible for the battle in the northern part of Mei City.

“You’re quite early. I thought you’d need another ten minutes.” Guang Yao smiled at the group. He was the overall commander on this side. Before the battle, he had to gather these people for a small meeting.

“Sister Lei already said, we’ll fight later. Besides reminding everyone to pay attention to coordination and charging forward courageously later, there’s not much else to instruct.”

Ah Yang was now a young man with a weathered face. Compared to the teenager who first entered Cloud Peak, he had gained not just maturity but also hints of calmness and fortitude.

From a bullied little nobody in Peace Town to now a leader commanding a main combat team, Ah Yang’s growth was a microcosm of many Cloud Peak members.

Of course, many didn’t attain such high positions; some even had their bones buried in the wilderness in some past battle.

But this was the apocalypse, cruel enough to make one unwilling to look back.

“Seems simple, but actually…” Gan Lan shook her head and didn’t continue.

Everyone understood her meaning.

Attacking these parasitic worms differed from attacking evolvers.

In battles to occupy the China region, Cloud Peak combined ‘fighting and persuading’—resolutely eliminating fiercely resisting factions while accepting willing collaborators. The difference was just the varying ‘fight-persuade’ ratios among teams. Teams like Little Tiger’s fought more; teams like Guang Yao’s and Tang Tian’s persuaded more.

But facing these parasitic worms, the outcome was only one: kill them all… or be killed by them.

The blue-skinned monsters were somewhat unfamiliar to many Cloud Peak members, but they had virtually fought them in the training platforms. Their combat methods and that characteristic of seemingly unlimited strength were chilling to think about.

Defeating them would certainly come at great cost, which was what Gan Lan worried about.

“Today, it’s not just us coming.” Guang Yao led the group to a spot convenient for observation. Because there was a patch of woods on the northern edge of Mei City, Cloud Peak’s people were outside the woods. During the attack later, they would first pass through there. So the temporary command post was placed on a tall war fortress to provide clearer view. The spot they arrived at was beside the war fortress, where they could ascend to the command cabin of the thirty-plus-meter-high war fortress.

“Besides us, ahead of us are five hundred thousand other evolved who came for heavy rewards or dreams of joining Cloud Peak, fifty thousand gene-modified warriors, and various magic crystal weapons. Additionally, there are some war rat legions and controllable mutated zombie groups helping.”

Guang Yao checked the time. Half an hour remained before the battle began. In some areas, signs of team mobilization were already visible. On the other side of the woods, the parasitic worms were also moving; quite a number even entered the woods.

But just as weird as before, they still didn’t attack the nearby Cloud Peak-affiliated forces.

“I know what you’re worried about: the losses here. After all, we’re facing at least five and a half million various monsters. To kill them all, casualties in every team are unavoidable.”

Guang Yao withdrew his gaze and had everyone follow him into the command cabin.

“But in war, people die. A powerful team only becomes true elites through numerous battles. Cloud Peak is strong now; no one can deny that. But the reason it’s so strong is because the boss laid the foundation for us, step by step, bringing us to today’s position. Now the boss has gone above; we need to work hard ourselves. Don’t think occupying the China region, something unimaginable before, seems amazing because we completed most of it quickly. Beyond the China region are vaster places, with stronger evolved and mutated lifeforms. Think of the Demon Whale. We must become even stronger. And battles, time and again, are our whetstones for getting stronger.”

Guang Yao could now be considered one of the most authoritative voices on strategy and tactics at Cloud Peak. His ideas on constructing and developing the entire team and faction constantly influenced Cloud Peak.

“Among those teams below who knew the danger yet came, at least half risk it to enter Cloud Peak. After this battle, the survivors among them will be the best supplement for our losses. What you need to do is simply select warriors suitable for your teams and with unquestionable loyalty.”

The others listened and slowly nodded.

“The situation here is okay; after all, most of our strength is concentrated here. But what about the East Sea? The Demon Whale is ravaging. After we finish here and transfer troops back, won’t those sea beasts have already taken advantage to grow, making dealing with them difficult? Also, time is just one aspect; we’ll also lose combat power, weakening overall strength. Will that have a big impact then?”

Ah Yang was somewhat worried. Like most, he felt they should handle the sea beast tide at the East Sea first. Those creatures had already severely damaged Cloud Peak’s interests there.

Guang Yao smiled and shook his head. “You all really somewhat underestimate the Black-hearted Queen.”

The others laughed. Mei Na joked, “A slip of the tongue; careful, we don’t reveal secrets.”

Guang Yao laughed heartily. “This is what I want to say about another aspect. Ah Yang, your little brothers didn’t come this time, nor did the Youth Army. A group of people who fought with us for years also didn’t come. What are they doing?”

Ah Yang knew his brothers didn’t come, but he didn’t mind because earlier, Sister Xia Lei pulled some people from many teams, not many, so everyone thought there was some special mission.

“Telling you is fine.” Guang Yao said, “Cloud Peak decided to expand the army, truly expand, not like previous times, just increasing numbers in existing teams. This time, it’s forming ten brand-new teams. The structure is these people who were moved out and the Youth Army. Each team’s initial scale is ten thousand. Once teams form and structures stabilize, expanding numbers to match our current teams is inevitable.”

Guang Yao stretched, as if preparing for the upcoming battle, then said, “We occupy such vast territory; our current number of troops isn’t enough. These ten newly formed teams’ first battle will be against this sea beast tide. Right now, they should have completed initial formation and are heading to the coast first.”

The others realized—so that was it.

“With them are the main forces of our peripheral organizations—Zhao Xingmei, Bai Feng, Sha Sha, and other teams. They’ve left their previous defense zones and gone to the East Sea first.”

“When they gather, there should be about five hundred thousand Cloud Peak-affiliated warriors there. Though not enough to repel the sea beast tide, it’s sufficient to stablise. What we need to do is quickly end the battle here and return to reinforce.”

“Alright, all return. Communicate via battle contribution badges. The battle… is about to begin.”